Thursday, January 14, 2016

So lately I have been craving mustard.. It's weird because I am 19 and have never, I mean NEVER, liked mustard unless its dijon or honey. But the plain tangy bright yellow stuff is what I'm talking about. Oddly enough I just started putting it on everything from my sandwiches, to snacks, along with pickles, and chips. And no, I'm not pregnant.

Cravings are your body's way of letting you know you may be deficient in something.

If you are craving...

Chocolate: you may need more magnesium in your diet.

You can satisfy this craving with: dark chocolate and raw cacao

Cheese: You need more fatty acids and calcium.

You can satisfy this craving with: healthy omega 3s such as seeds and nuts, and dark leafy greens

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

So far this first week of exercise and a clean, healthy diet has been fairly easy. As I age, my tastebuds seem to enjoy healthy and natural flavors opposed to super salty and sweet ones. Don't get me wrong, I love a little chocolate and cake, but I can't eat nearly as much as I once could without feeling gross and bloated.

I have also been a lot more sensitive to coffee drinks lately. I can only have regular coffee or espresso with a little cream and sugar. No fancy lattes. They seem to dehydrate me and I end up wasting most of the drink, trading it for a tall glass of water. I'm glad too, because I just read that too much caffeine can cause your cortisol levels to rise, and cause water retention/weight gain. SCARY. Especially because I have been drinking up to 8 cups of coffee or caffeinated tea every day in the past.

Anyway, lets get on to my results, ups, downs, and feelings about my first week of this challenge.

Sunday

Sunday was not a workout day. Only Meal prep. I didn't exactly understand what meal prep was until searching the hashtag on instagram. There are some legit meal preppers out there. props to you. But I didn't meal prep this week assuming it was a waste of my time... I should have prepped.

Monday

My work day started early, so I didn't have time to complete my planned workout for the morning and instead waited until after work around 7pm. It was a late workout, and I was extremely tired from my long shift. The HIIT workout kicked my butt. I had a really hard time keeping up, and my lungs were on fire.

Tuesday

Today I woke up really tired and sore. Unfortunately due to long work hours and a busy day I was unable to complete the workout posted for toneitup. Instead I just worked in a 20 minute yoga session to stay moving. Oh, and it was really hard not to eat a donut today... but i abstained.

Wednesday

Cardo + Weight training today. I burned 200 calories in 30 minutes on the elliptical for my cardio. Then I completed the Booty + Abs workout from Toneitup. I didn't have a ball though, so I had to improvise a bit. I also had a doctors appointment today and weighed in at 146 pounds. at my 5'3 stature this was really shocking to me... and made me have sort of an emotional breakdown, I had gained 10 pounds in 2 months, and 25 pounds in this past year. My goal is to get back down to at least 115-120 pounds hopefully by summer, and tone up.

Thursday

Today's workout was mainly cardio. I burned 200 calories in 30 minutes on the elliptical (about 2 miles at level 5). I also completed 21 minutes on the bike for a total of 402 calories and 3 miles. *heart rate got up to 173 today!

This was the first day I logged my meals too.

Breakfast: sausage egg and cheese croissant

Lunch: Grilled Chicken sandwich

Snack: Handful of strawberries

Dinner: Salmon and Asparagus

Friday & Saturday

Oops! I did not log for these days but ate healthy meals and still completed my workouts on toneitup.com

Thursday, January 7, 2016

One of my New Year's Resolutions for 2016 is to create more, and stick to trying new things with my artwork. Sometimes life tends to come first and I put my art off to the side, but eventually this is what I would love to do as my career.

When I was in high school I was placed in International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement art classes. These classes taught me a ton in terms of creating, and how inspiration can come from just about anything. I want to continue to show the process of my art and not just the outcome.

"Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead" -Yvonne Woon

On Sunday I started the Toneitup Challenge with Karena and Katrina. I have always done their workouts but I haven't completed one of the challenges yet so it's pretty exciting to me. So far it is kicking my butt. Hard. But the good news is, I have the energy to complete my workouts due to my clean eating diet. The diet is difficult, but I no longer wake up bloated, which helps me stay motivated.

Another thing that helps with the motivation is my supplies. These new Reebok yoga pants are SOOO comfortable and have a fleece lining inside to help me stay warm. I have been keeping a workout journal-I bought this one from home goods. The journaling helps me to organize my meals and workouts according to my crazy work schedule. Having it almost makes me want to complete my workouts even more, just so I can write them down right after.

Friday, January 1, 2016

First off, Happy New Years! Lets all cross our fingers that this year will bring lots of good news and memories to share. Here are a few highlights from 2015, enjoy.

When we both worked at a shoe store. Wing tips became an obsession.

Road Trip to California for the Live105BFD concert

Our first family photo with Orwell.

When we took Zindy hiking and she loves trotting along side us

On the rooftops with Mama and Sissy

Camping with Orwell

Another Road Trip through Idaho

On The Farm in Idaho

Second; New Years is a time when everyone wants to make changes. Personally, I love change and as a list maker, O-C-D organizer I tend to make unrealistic goals each year that I want to challenge myself with. Unfortunately these goals tend to work out for the first month-if not a week-and then I crash with the acceptance that I am only human. But It's 2016, and this year's change is going to be a good one, so lets make the type of goals we can keep!

Diets.

Diets are the number one change that people strive to make each new year. "I will eat absolutely no bread!" It can work, but for the majority of people out there, diets don't work. Instead, make a goal that is a bit more focused that you can stick to such as; "I want to eat less sugar, and more green vegetables." Or "I want to cut back on soda and drink more water." The more small goals we make in our diet, the more likely we are to stick to them long term, and have a healthy outlook as a whole.

Exercise.

Diet and exercise go hand and hand. For all those people who want to lose weight out there as your New Years resolution, don't get discouraged. I know you can do it. And here are some tips to help:

Follow a Short-Term Fitness Challenge, then graduate to a new one. For 2016, there are some great and FREE challenges out there by fitness trainers everywhere. Try the new Toneitup 8 week challenge, or 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene. The videos and training plans are easily accessible and they give you a calendar to help you stick with it!

Drop the scale, and look away. Seriously, it isn't going to help you to obsess over single pounds. Did you know that if you were to drink one tall glass of water and then weigh yourself it would be equal to 1 pound? So try 8 glasses. Now, when you use the bathroom that goes away-not all at once- but it does gradually throughout the day. That is how easy it is to gain/lose pounds. Instead, focus on gaining muscle through weight training (by the way this increases pounds too) and burning fat through cardio.

Take a moment to breathe. And I mean BIG DEAP BREATHS. Increased oxygen helps you to be relaxed during your workouts, allowing you to complete that run, or last couple of reps.

If you want to lose weight, you need to commit. Once you decide not to eat that cheeseburger three days in a row, the fourth day becomes a lot easier... and the fifth, sixth, etc. Don't cheat. Don't make excuses.

Organization.

Being organized is another common resolution for the new year. If you are OCD like me, then you make lists on a daily of the things you want to get done. It's hard to complete every single task, especially if you work a full time job, have kids and a family, go to school, etc. Try this:

Get a Calendar. On a calendar write your most important things to remember for the month, the week, and the day ahead of time. This makes remembering birth days, appointments, and other important dates much less of a chore. * Plus, the calendar only has so much room for tasks per day, forcing you to narrow down to your top three or four, instead of trying to finish everything in one day.

Invest in a few bins, boxes, and shelves to make organization a breeze. This can be fun and creative if you make them yourself, or you can find inexpensive ones at your local craft store. I get mine from Hobby Lobby, they always have online coupons per week, and if you go on a Saturday evening you might just get the online coupons for both weeks.

Finances.

This one is tricky and this advice I can give from my 19 year old brain is to save. It can't hurt to save money. If you are lucky enough to get tips at your job, throw them in a jar and see how much you can add up each month, if not a few months at a time, to a year. You can also try adding $100-$200 dollars to your savings each month. It is important to save enough to have a small amount of cushion just in case sudden expenses pop up. It sucks to see your savings disappear, but it's better than a swipe to the credit card.

Personal Goals.

I believe in making goals all throughout the year. Some should be short-term, and others long. But whatever it may be, do not get discouraged if it falls through. Things happen. Just because you didn't get that promotion at work doesn't mean you shouldn't stop working your booty off to impress your boss. The most important thing to remember is: Goals are just that, Goals. Some may be more important and others not so much, but be happy with what you CAN do, and learn to accept what you can not.